A. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to the art of extruded reclosable bags and more particularly to a reclosable bag having fastener profiles with finger guides for interlocking the profiles and improved gripping ribs spaced from the profiles for gripping the bag mouth during opening.
B. Description of the Prior Art
Reclosable bags used for example for storing household goods are typically made of polyethylene. As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,416,199 to Imamura commonly assigned with the present invention, a reclosable bag may be formed of two opposed walls equipped at the mouth with fastener profiles. These profiles include a male profile attached to one wall and a female profile on the other wall. The profiles are shaped so that when they are aligned and pressed together into an engaging relationship they form a continuous closure for the bag. The bag may be opened by pulling the walls apart thereby separating the profiles. Various geometric shapes and arrangements for such profiles are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 28,969; 3,338,285; 4,212,337; 4,363,345; 4,561,108; and 4,812,056. In addition, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,736,496 and 5,012,561 disclose reclosable bags with profiles and internal ribs adjacent to the profiles. U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,539 discloses a reclosable bag with interlocking profiles, internal guiding ribs disposed adjacent to the profiles, and stabilizing beams disposed on an outside surface of the bag wall. European Patent Application 0 220 476 discloses a reclosable bag with several parallel symmetrical ridges disposed in parallel between the mouth of the bag and the closure profiles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,828 discloses a reclosable container with a grip strip.
One problem with the prior art reclosable bags is that they do not provide sufficient means for gripping the side walls of the bags to separate the profiles. This problem is especially prominent for example if the bag and/or the fingers of the user are wet because this wetness makes the polyethylene bag very slippery. A further problem is that it is difficult to close such bags particularly when the bags are relatively long since the fingers of the user may drift off the profiles resulting in the closing pressure not being directly applied to the closures.